17 awesome things about the Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers clinched the NL West title on Thursday with their win over the Diamondbacks. The Champagne celebration marked the conclusion to an amazing regular-season run that saw them climb from last place to first place across the month of July and ultimately run away with their division.

With one of baseball’s biggest payrolls and several of its brightest stars, the Dodgers have been steadily in the sport’s spotlight for over a year. And no matter what fans of the Giants, Rockies, D-Backs and Padres might say, there’s plenty to like about the NL West’s best club.

Here are 17 awesome things about the Los Angeles Dodgers:

1. Yasiel Puig’s arm

We figured we’d get Puig out of the way first. The Dodgers’ Cuban sensation is awesome in more ways than one, but his arm makes for the most spectacular highlights. Yeah, sometimes he overthrows the cutoff man. But what’re the chances the cutoff man’s relay throw is going to look nearly so cool?

2. They’re owned (in part) by Magic Johnson

(Kibry Lee/USA TODAY Sports Images)

The former Lakers star isn’t the controlling owner of the Dodgers, but he’s become the public face of the team’s front office. They even gave him a bobblehead:

4. Vin Scully keeps going

5. Clayton Kershaw’s curveball

Clayton Kershaw’s curveball is so good it comes with its own Scully-crafted nickname: Public Enemy No. 1. The rest of his pitches are pretty awesome, too, and Kershaw’s been about the best pitcher in the Majors in 2013. He’s somehow doesn’t get enough credit for being the best pitcher on one of the best teams in one of the nation’s biggest media markets. He will here.

7. Clayton Kershaw’s adorable relationship

It’s hard to celebrate or denigrate relationships without personally knowing either party involved. But Kershaw and his wife Ellen have been dating since they were 15, when they looked very much like 15-year-olds in love. It’s heartwarming. This whole list could be about Kershaw, but I’ll save the rest for when he wins the Cy Young.

8. Danny DeVito loves Nick Punto

Nick Punto and Danny DeVito (PHOTO: Harry How/Getty Images)

This is a relationship the world definitely needs to know more about. Danny DeVito owns a Nick Punto jersey. How did that happen, and how can we make sure it keeps happening?

9. Hanley’s whole look

(PHOTO: Rob Leifheit/USA TODAY Sports)

Sporting an open shirt, rosary beads and a filthy helmet, shortstop Hanley Ramirez maintains his own aesthetic. He pulls it off because he’s awesome. Ramirez has played the best baseball of his career since the Dodgers’ run started in late June, shortly after Ramirez returned from the disabled list. If he had played a full season, he’d likely be a runaway favorite for the NL MVP Award.

10. Hey, sexy ladies…

In the distant past, in the era before Blurred Lines there was once a Korean pop sensation named Psy who wrote a famous song called Gangnam Style. And Dodgers rookie lefty (and very good pitcher) Hyun-Jin Ryu did a strong Psy impression.

11. Baseball’s most ridiculous beard

12. Manager Don Mattingly’s Simpsons history

Don Mattingly’s spat with Montgomery Burns stole the show in one of the greatest Simpsons episodes of all-time. The Dodgers’ manager is clean-shaven now. He must have finally learned his lesson.

13. Hitting coach Mark McGwire’s Simpsons history

McGwire, too, made a memorable Simpsons appearance several years after Mattingly did. Unfortunately for all involved, it proved a shocking bit of foreshadowing to the “terrifying truth” behind many of that era’s dingers.

14. Larry King will probably show up

Playing in Los Angeles, the Dodgers have plenty of celebrity fans. But none seem quite as dedicated as Larry King, and none is so instantly identifiable when the camera pans the crowd during games.

16. Kenley Jansen’s cutter

Jansen throws his cutter nearly 90 percent of the time, and it moves so late and so sharply that he’s excellent despite the general lack of variety. This is a devastating comparison to put on a young closer, but Jansen’s following the same formula that worked for Mariano Rivera for a very, very long time. And he throws it a touch harder than Rivera, which helps him rack up strikeouts.

They’re the team with Yasiel Puig, Clayton Kershaw and Hanley Ramirez, after all.

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